The placement of the syllable boundary in consonant clusters occurring word-medially is a perennial problem in phonological theory. The comprehension of the syllable as the “smallest binding unit of language” (Pauliny 1979: 101), as the unit necessary for the understanding of the phonological structure of the language, enables us to determine the boundaries of syllables on the basis of contrasts between the neighbouring phonemes in the syllable. The degree of contrast depends on the distinctive features of the given phonemes. To evaluate this approach, distinctive features of phonemes from two different languages – English and Slovak – were delimited according to two distinctive features theories – Feature Geometry and synthetic phonological theory. The sample analysis of the English and the Slovak words with word-medial consonant clusters indicates the validity of this approach for the demarcation of the syllable boundary in polysyllabic words.

The paper deals with the role of stress in distinguishing between compounds and phrases. An experimental laboratory research aims (a) to examine the nature of stress in N + N constructions in terms of its relative value, i.e., in relation to the values measured in neighbouring syllables; (b) to compare precise laboratory data with expectations of native speakers; (c) to compare precise laboratory measurement data with those obtained from native speakers who listened to a recording read by native speakers, in order to find out whether human ear perception corresponds to the results produced by computer technology; (d) to compare the laboratory data with the structural predictions using Giegerich's criteria (2004); (e) to compare the laboratory data with the semantic predictions based on Olsen (2000). The laboratory data are analyzed and commented on with regard to the individual research tasks and objectives specified in points (a) to (e) above.

Universals Archive (Universal #1926) indicates a universal tendency for sound symbolism in reference to the expression of diminutives and augmentatives. The research ( Štekauer et al. 2009 ) carried out on European languages has not proved the tendency at all. Therefore, our research was extended to cover three language families – Indo-European, Niger-Congo and Austronesian. A three-step analysis examining different aspects of phonetic symbolism was carried out on a core vocabulary of 35 lexical items. A research sample was selected out of 60 languages. The evaluative markers were analyzed according to both phonetic classification of vowels and consonants and Ultan's and Niewenhuis' conclusions on the dominance of palatal and post-alveolar consonants in diminutive markers. Finally, the data obtained in our sample languages was evaluated by means of a three-dimensional model illustrating the place of articulation of the individual segments.

This paper presents partial results of a larger-scale project of designing the matrix sentence test for Slovak. The main aim is presentation and detailed discussion of linguistic aspects of Slovak matrix sentence test. First, morphosyntactic criteria are outlined. These are followed by description of problematic issues and the solutions proposed. Second, phonological criteria are given and discussed. In the next step, the matrix test will be optimized and evaluated in order to measure speech intelligibility function and to establish the correct reference data for listeners with normal hearing.

The CVX theory of syllable by S. Duanmu claims that the maximal rhyme size in all languages is VX, i.e. VV or VC (Duanmu 2009). Duanmu's analysis of wordfinal rhymes in English shows that all coda clusters form a complex sound or can be explained by morphology. Long vowels can be represented as short and thus the rhyme size does not exceed VX. The data from Slovak cast doubts on the universal nature of the CVX syllable theory. In Slovak, word-final consonant clusters form complex sounds only rarely and not all consonants beyond the VX limit have morphological solution. Moreover, the dominant feature of Slovak vowels is their length, which expands the number of timing slots in the rhyme structure template.